Sunshine Corporation

Sunshine Corporation Logo.

Sunshine Corporation (サンシャイン・コーポレーション ,Sanshain Kōporēshon) is a Japanese animation studio used for outsourcing. This studio was involved in the production of some of the Detective Conan anime episodes.

Sunshine Corporation is the first outsourcing firm that got involved of the Detetective Conan anime production; its origin can be dated back to 1996, with episode 5 The Shinkansen's Bomb Case, the firm was credited under the segment "production cooperation" in the ending credits. After that, there were no notation within the ending credits with regards to the firm; nonetheless, the firm did not just quit the anime production - but instead, continued to get involved in the anime. There was a massive key animation group belonged to Sunshine Corporation which regularlly contributed to some Detective Conan episodes. The reason that the company name was not under "production cooperation" was due to the fact that those animation directors responsible for these supposedly Sunshine Corporation episodes were of freelance and with no affiliate. As such, the company name was not seen in the ending credit for many years.

This circumstance was then overturned in 2002: episode 271, The Secret Rushed Omission. Where the animator Akiko Kawashima, who was directly affiliated with Sunshine Corporation, started to serve as animation director; thereafter, her role as animation director became fixed and regular. Incidentally, before this change, many freelance animation directors were appointed to partner the key aniamtion group of Sunshine Corporation, this entailed Masayuki Hiraoka, Takehiro Hamatsu, Keiichi Ishida, Masaki Kudo, Mitsuru Soma etc.

Many aniamtors from this firm possess a fairly refined art style - a lot of frames drawn by them were gorgeous and alluring. This was also not an exception for Kawashima's animation direction: numerous smooth techniques utilised and magnificient art style seen within those episodes (characters with big eyes were not an uncommon phenomenon either). After Masato Sato became the anime director, the firm's name was then officially credited under "production cooperation" again, starting with The Similar Princesses. Despite some unsteady frames during this transition period when the anime character design had changed to Mari Tominaga, Kawashima was still able to adapt and resume her proficiency upon animation direction - the Full Moon arc from episode 345 could serve as an example.

After episode 432, Kawashima stepped down from the animation director role in Detective Conan. As a result, another animator named Ayako Tauchi had taken the relative position. Tauchi had manifested some capabilities of drawing the characters in a slightly different way as Kawashima. Finally, Sunshine Corporation quit the Detective Conan production in 2006, after episode 499.

Related staff

• Akiko Kawashima
• Miwako Shibata
• Ayako Tauchi
• Kousuke Kobayashi
• Seiki Tanaka

Participation in Detective Conan

Number of episodes outsourced: 16 (16 episodes)

• The Shinkansen's Bomb Case (Episode 5)
• The Similar Princesses (Episode 334 only)
• The Bride of Huis ten Bosch (Episode 342)
• The Fishing Tournament Tragedy (Episode 353)
• The Case of the Furisode at the Hidden Hot Spring on a Snowy Night (Episode 380 only)
• Kogoro Gets Drunk in Satsuma (Episode 389 only)
• Big Adventure in the Eccentric Mansion (Episode 396 only)
• A Jewel Thief Caught Red-Handed (Episode 401 only)
• The Mysterious Angel's Mansion (Episode 404 only)
• Conan and Heiji's Deduction Magic (Episode 408 only)
• The Shinto Shrine Torii's Surprising Code (Episode 412 only)
• The Evil Spirit Appears on An Unlucky Day (Episode 416 only)
• Metropolitan Police Detective Love Story 7 (Episode 432 only)
• The Man Obstructed by the Steel Frame (Episode 442)
• The Sealed Western-Style Window (Episode 447 only)
• Metropolitan Police Detective Love Story - Fake Wedding (Episode 449)

References

1. Official Website (Japanese)
2. Atwiki (Japanese)
3. Anime News Network
4. Bangumi (Chinese)